In Wine Country, cult cab meets college cab

WINE Two-year programs branch from teaching to business

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, March 1, 2009

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

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Student, Joe Shotwell (right), topping off a carboy of wine during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The two students in the back are, Mark Buckley (left, ball cap), and James Russell (middle). less

Student, Joe Shotwell (right), topping off a carboy of wine during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The two students in the back are, Mark Buckley (left, ball ... more

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

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Student, Jon Stewart, cleaning and checking a wine tank during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009.

Student, Jon Stewart, cleaning and checking a wine tank during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009.

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

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Student, Ryan Solis (far right wearing cap), topping off a wine barrel during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The other students are (left-right), Mark Buckley (on the edge of the frame), David Grega, Greg Siewert (Instructional Assistant, orange jacket), Luigi Dagnino, and James Russell. less

Student, Ryan Solis (far right wearing cap), topping off a wine barrel during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The other students are (left-right), Mark Buckley ... more

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

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Students inspecting a wine tank during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The students are (left-right, faces you can see) Lance Holdsworth (ball cap), Dwight Taylor, Stacey Ellis, Luigi Dagnino, Mark Buckley (ball cap), and Joe Shotwell. less

Students inspecting a wine tank during the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009. The students are (left-right, faces you can see) Lance Holdsworth (ball cap), Dwight ... more

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

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Winery technology instructor, Bryan Avila, teaching the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009.

Winery technology instructor, Bryan Avila, teaching the winemaking class at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif., on February 17, 2009.

Photo: Craig Lee, The Chronicle

In Wine Country, cult cab meets college cab

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Huddled like a football team over a pile of oak staves, students in the Santa Rosa Junior College wine program had their work cut out for them on a recent Saturday at their Shone Farm facility - 10 people on the crush pad had five minutes to put a wine barrel back together.

Instructor Chris Wills gave the signal. One man inserted staves into the bottom barrelhead. Four teammates gathered to hold the slats in place. Another slid metal hoops over the wood and used an anvil-shaped hoop driver to whack the metal into proper position.

"Not as easy as it looks," remarked one student, dripping with sweat. "I had no idea I'd work so hard when I woke up this morning."

In years past, exercises like this one were just that - exercises. Now, however, just months after the college launched an independent arm that fulfills state-mandated license and bonding requirements, they are part of a curriculum that will enable students to produce and sell wine just like cellar rats at any other winery.

The SRJC effort isn't the only such endeavor in the Bay Area. In Napa, school officials at Napa Valley College recently launched a similar program.

Though neither facility likely will produce more than 1,000 cases, the new setups should help wine programs at both schools become completely self-sufficient at a time when state funding cuts have withered higher education.

"In these tough economic times, it's important to have a way to keep our wine program alive without relying on money from our friends in Sacramento," says Stephen Krebs, coordinator of viticulture and winery technology at Napa Valley College, which became a bonded facility in October. "Our hope is that the hands-on learning experience will prepare students for work at a commercial estate winery."

College wines go commercial

Commercial winemaking in higher education is nothing new. California State University Fresno has had a commercial facility since 1997, and in Washington state, Walla Walla Community College has been running a commercial winery for several years. UC Davis also runs a pilot winery, though it isn't yet bonded to sell the wine it makes.

Still, what differentiates the two-year programs in Napa and Sonoma from these efforts is the location - local schools running commercial programs in the heart of big-name Wine Country, where the proverbial big boys play.

The Napa program, which was still deciding on a name for its wine, plans to sell up to 1,000 cases of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon blend. SRJC, which is planning to call its wine Shone Farm, after the Forestville farm on which the grapes are grown, will sell up to 500 cases of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, rosé and a sparkling wine (see "Colleges and their wines").

The first vintage from each program is expected to be available later this year.

Interestingly, because both two- and four-year public colleges cannot obtain permits to operate a wine lab, the colleges had to set up foundations to run the show. Because both operating entities are nonprofits, all proceeds must go back into the organization to support the educational programs of their respective departments.

Still, commercial sales mark a dramatic departure from the way the wine programs at both schools used to work. In the past, each school sold a majority of the grapes grown on school-owned vineyards to wineries around the region.

Because production levels were so low, much of this winemaking was done with traditional equipment - hand-crank crushers and basket presses. Now, however, both programs will incorporate serious tools, such as commercial destemmers, crushers and tank presses, and rely on the expertise of industry veterans. Krebs, for instance, worked as a viticulturist and manager at such properties as Matanzas Creek in Santa Rosa and Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa.

Winemaking as education

Wills, the manager of the junior college's Shone Farm facility who took over the wine program when SRJC received its bond in November, worked for such Sonoma County labels as St. Francis, Arrowood and Korbel.

"Some of our students have made wine before and they still haven't seen equipment like this," says Wills. "What we're trying to do is give the students a real-life situation working real-life commercial volumes and real-life equipment so they can go right into a winery and jump in."

Local winemakers have been positive about the new programs, with many viewing them as a way to train future employees.

John Balletto, owner of Balletto Vineyards in Santa Rosa, says that because "so many people go into the wine business not understanding the work it takes," the SRJC program will help educate the next generation of local winemakers.

Margo Treweek, wine education manager at Trinchero Family Estates in St. Helena, notes that any sales lost to NVC wines are outweighed by the benefits of real-world commercial winery experience. "Anybody who comes into the industry with hands-on training is a great asset," she says. "At the end of the day, that's the most important aspect of what this program brings."

The new projects also will involve other departments at both schools.

Multidisciplinary approach

Wills said SRJC students from an applied graphics class have worked on new labels for the college's wine, and students in the college's marketing program will help devise a marketing plan once the first vintage is ready for distribution later this year. Krebs expects that NVC design students will get involved with his college's labels as well. He plans to recruit marketing students to write copy for the back of the bottles. Members of a NVC choral singing group volunteered to perform at the Chardonnay release this May, and students from the school's culinary arts program offered to prepare hors d'oeuvres.

During the recent barrel lab at Shone Farm, Peter Treleaven, 24, practiced patching holes with spiles - plugs that resemble tiny golf tees. Treleaven noted that he'd never thought of barrel maintenance as a necessary skill until he spotted it on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.

"The way I look at it, with all of this firsthand experience and knowledge, this is as close as I can get to working at a winery without actually doing it," he said. "To think that this summer, I'll be able to go into a supermarket and buy wine that I helped make - it simply doesn't get any better than that."

Colleges and their wines

Both Napa Valley College and Santa Rosa Junior College plan to release wine this year. The details on their wines and their programs:

Where to find them: Local Santa Rosa retailers, such as G&G Supermarket, Oliver's Market and Traverso's Gourmet Foods & Liquors

Want to learn? Individual classes in the SRJC program cost anywhere from $5 to $50 apiece. The school offers five certificates or degrees concentrating on different parts of the wine business.

More information: sfgate.com/ZGFO

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